First Casualty
by Screaming Argonaut
Summary: Ed is forced to do something he hoped he never had to do. Can he live with himself afterwards? Parental!Ed/Riza M for language


_**What don't I own? Oh that's right, Fullmetal Alchemist.**_

Edward was on his way back to his flat where he and his brother resided. It was late, around eleven pm. He would have been home exponentially sooner had Colonel Bastard not rambled on as long as he did. It was the sixth meeting in two months. Everyone knew who was taking the office supplies, but if anyone pointed out Mustang, all would suffer. As if the weather had sensed his mood, the clouds opened up and it started to rain.

"Fan-fuckin'-tastic!" shouted the boy to no one in particular. He silenced himself thinking about his vulgar vocabulary. Hughes already chewed his ass out for saying…well, "Ass," In front of Elysia. He knew a thirteen year-old boy like he shouldn't curse so much, but it was a great stress reliever. He was trotting through the rain deep in thought when a shout distracted him. He backed up and looked down the alley he had just passed. There he saw a rather large man standing over a badly beaten boy. There was an idling van at the opposite end and the man picked up the child and was about to take him when Ed stepped in. "If you have any value of your life, I'd suggest you put him down, you little shit!" Ed screamed down the dark alley. The boy was barely conscious but the man heard what Ed said perfectly. He dropped the boy on the wet concrete, a pained yelp escaping from the child. The man turned to face the punk who dared to disturb him. The van's headlights prevented Ed from seeing anything but a silhouette, but the man/beast could see him perfectly. Ed could see a toothy grin on his darkened face. Ed didn't wait to find out what the man had in mind and charged. He transmuted his automail into a blade and gifted the child abuser with a swift kick to the face. The creep didn't miss a beat and grabbed Ed by the waist and threw him into the brick wall. Edward was in a daze and he felt blood trickle down his face. When his vision cleared, he saw a gun barrel between his eyes.

"I like you, come with me and you won't get hurt…I promise." Again with the toothy grin. Ed got up slowly and the man backed up, allowing him to do so. He made the mistake of assuming this was Ed's act of submission. The golden eyes flashed as he charged again. A shot rang out and He felt excruciating pain in his left shoulder. The pain caused Ed to become disoriented and he miscalculated the man's movements. Ed thought he was going to slice his arm hoping for the man to drop the weapon. Something much worse happened. Ed's blade went right into the man's face, killing him instantly. Ed stood and watched in horror as the man's blood flowed down Ed's mechanical limb. He was unsure how long he stood there mortified, but he felt a hand on his shoulder and a soft voiced echoed in his ears.

"Edward, he's dead. Pull your arm back." He obeyed and looked up at 1st lieutenant Hawkeye. He heard the body collapse to the ground as well as the boy's soft sobs. She gently pushed Ed down on the ground while she went to help the battered child. Ed clutched his left shoulder and stared at the corpse. He kept repeating the same phrase over and over, "How did this happen? I didn't mean to." The Ambulance showed up ten minutes later. The boy was put onto a stretcher and when he saw Edward standing there, he began screaming and sobbing uncontrollably. _Oh, god,_ thought Edward, _he's scared of me!_ Riza quickly turned Ed away from the paramedics and walked down the alley where the second ambulance was. They began treating his gunshot wound and the crack in his head. Hawkeye sat next to him stroking his flesh hand speaking comforting words Ed could not yet comprehend, he was still in shock. They were like that for a few minutes and were about to leave when the doors flew open and Ed saw Alphonse standing there. He was a suit of armor and could not show emotion, but Ed knew he was feeling worry, sadness, and even anger, all at the same time. Al knew better than to ask his brother what happened, but he insisted on going with them to the hospital.

Edward was released the next day in the care of Riza Hawkeye. She watched him walk to her car and took notice that every step he took, he irritated his gunshot wound and he winced. She stopped him and made him face her.

"Edward, you love Winry, don't you?" His face flushed instantly and he began objecting and sputtering. Riza took this opportunity to inject him with a good sized amount of pain killers. She was trained in military medicine and that was the reason Ed was able to leave as soon as he did. During the car ride, Ed fell asleep a few times. She considered waking him, but she thought it would be best if he slept when he could because she knew he wouldn't be sleeping well the next few nights. Al was not with them because she asked him to go back to their place and grab a bunch of Ed's clothes and to meet them at her apartment. She parked her car and was forced to wake up her current ward. They began to walk to the front door when a woman stopped them.

"Are you Edward Elric?" she asked hopefully. He nodded and she threw her arms around him. Hawkeye was about to draw her weapon but she stopped when the woman began thanking him.

"You saved my baby last night! If you weren't there…I don't know what would have happened to him! Thank you so much!" Ed looked up at her and returned the hug. She began crying and released her grip on him. Ed was grateful that she excused herself because otherwise, he would have started crying too.

Riza brought Ed inside and held him tightly. Ed leaned into the hug and finally allowed the tears to fall. She kissed him on the forehead and whispered to him gently.

"The First one is always the hardest. You may not feel this way, but you did the right thing. You saved that boy's life." At this Edward exploded into more sobs. She started petting his blond head and his muffled voice escaped from her jacket.

"How do you do it?"

She thought about this question. No one had ever asked her this before. Finally she rested her chin on the top of his head and replied,

"I don't know, I wish I never had to…I wish you didn't have to either."


End file.
